Perhaps the same thing can take place with abortion rights as has happened with the Vagina Monologues: that, at the least, Out of Silence can act as a jumping-off point for activism that may push even further than abortion storytelling itself in the future.

The book opens with 20 first-person narratives by young people who explore the bombardment of conflicting messages about sexuality that continually besiege them. Later in the text, the play mentioned in the anthology’s title—also called “SLUT”—provides a case study about the ways slut-shaming impacts those on the receiving end of it.

This week, the FDA warns of real Viagra in supposedly all natural supplements, a survey finds less than half of adults polled in Japan had sex in the last month, and we theorize about what method of contraception was available to the ladies of Downton Abbey.

It’s irresponsible to point to a character with a large chest or a perky butt as a problem, because that implies women are responsible for the patriarchal notion that makes these things problematic. But we do need to move away from stereotypes altogether to create characters that do not fit into the same tired box.

TLC defended its special, saying that the views it depicts are strictly those of the participants. What the network didn’t say was that many of the show’s participants are affiliated with organizations tied to the discredited “ex-gay” movement.

Supporters of same-sex marriage across the South told reporters that they left the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals feeling optimistic Friday, as counsel for gay and lesbian plaintiffs from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas spent the morning in the New Orleans court arguing against same-sex marriage bans in the three states.

As data emerges showing that syphilis rates are up yet again, the FDA has granted a waiver allowing a rapid test for the infection to be conducted in doctor’s offices, clinics, emergency rooms, maternity wards, and other non-laboratory settings. Experts hope that access to immediate results can increase both treatment and prevention and stem the tides of this growing epidemic.

Twice this week, conservatives have tried to draw false equivalences between slut-shaming and discouraging behavior that causes actual harm. Here’s why slut-shaming is wrong, but asking for corporate transparency or public transit etiquette is not.

Ingrained in Bob Jones University’s very DNA is a belief in shame as an essentially positive thing, which manifests in its reportedly condemnatory attitude toward survivors of sexual abuse and violence.